Preliminary studies of the latest outbreak that killed at least 38 Warao Indians in northeastern Venezuela indicate that it may be a type of infectious rabies transmitted by bites from bats, according to indigenous leaders and researchers from the University of California at Berkeley. Though laboratory investigations have yet to confirm the cause, but the symptoms include fever, body pains, tingling in the feet followed by progressive paralysis point to rabies, said the husband-and-wife team of anthropologist Charles Briggs and public health specialist Dr. Clara Mantini-Briggs. The victims also had an extreme fear of water coupled with convulsions before death.

Two Spanish chemists have found that U. S. dollar bills contained the highest traces of cocaine powder, indicating the popularity of the illegal drug. The study by Sergio Armenta and Miguel de la Guardia from the University of Valencia published in the latest issue of the journal Trends in Analytical Chemistry also found that Spanish euro notes are the most contaminated with the drug among European currencies.

Methadone, an agent used to break addiction to drugs, has ability to destroy leukemia cells without harming healthy cells, a study has found. The study, published in the August 1 issue of Cancer Research, suggests that methadone holds promise especially in patients whose cancer no longer responds to chemotherapy and radiation.

A dress code banning urban wear at the Brunswick House, a popular nightspot for University of Toronto students, is generating controversy. The decades-old establishment has signs which explicitly prohibit baggy pants, do-rags, bandanas, track-suits, jerseys, tank tops and reverse baseball caps. Most of these items are apparel associated with the black community, raising the specter that the ban may spark controversy.

A study by psychiatrists at the Erlangen University, in collaboration with researchers from the University of North Dakota, linked shopping addiction to an intense craving for attention. One in 10 consumers from wealthy western nations have varying degrees of shopping addiction, according to Martina de Zwaan, head of the Erlangen University's Department of Psychotherapy.